If there’s one thing that kids these days aim for, it’s having a fat bank account. Of course, the road to financial independence starts after you have spent at least four years getting a college degree. No doubt, everything that comes afterward is difficult, considering that you’re still establishing yourself in the real world.
When it comes to generating wealth, some fresh graduates may be lucky to start off with a clean slate; many others will be dealing with student debt. Regardless, it’s for them to decide how they’re going to go about saving money and scaling their income. The good news is, it’s still possible to make money even when you’re relatively young.
Here are a few things you might want to consider in order to build wealth after university:
Set specific goals
Of course, the first thing you will have to do is to set specific goals for yourself. Try to write down both long-term and short-term goals that are achievable within a realistic timeframe. For instance, if you’re planning to settle down in your own home in the suburbs, you will have to identify smaller goals that can help you achieve this.
Start saving money
The earlier you start building up your savings account, the better. In such a volatile market, it’s important to save enough for contingencies and also for accomplishing certain goals. For this, you will have to create a separate deposit account where you can channel a portion of your salary directly to your savings. You can use automatic saving transfer apps that can schedule fund transfers from your checking account directly to your savings account.
Pay off your debts
According to ChamberofCommerce.org, the average student debt is now more than $37,000. Sure enough, the issue of student debt remains a very difficult burden that many young adults have to shoulder. You just can’t establish yourself properly if you’re still making monthly payments on your school loans. However, there are several ways you can apply to address your debt problem.
Refinancing, for example, can help you lessen your financial burden. Simply look for a private lender who can cover the remaining payable amount, allowing you to decrease your monthly payment considerably.
Identify potential investment options
From the get-go, you should be able to start exploring possible ideas you can invest in once you have enough capital set aside. While owning a small business is always a great idea to generate passive income, you can also diversify your portfolio by including stocks or even real estate. However, investing your hard-earned money requires research. You also need to assess your risk profile and find investment options that will hopefully work out for the best.
Stick to a budget
Finally, building wealth has to involve a great deal of discipline on your part. That being said, you should be able to come up with a budget that works for your lifestyle. Taking all your income sources into account, you should be able to determine your expenses and the amount of cash that should go to savings.
It may take some time, but with these tips you can get a good start on building your wealth early on.
Photo Credit: stock photo
“The road to financial independence starts after you have spent at least four years getting a college degree.”
Forty years ago, my son left college because of what, to him, was the unacceptable behavior of fellow students – food fights in the cafeteria, trashed coin-operated laundry facilities, etc.
He helped me build our house, then informally apprenticed with a local house builder (incidentally, house builders are not “home builders”. Home is where people live – sometimes in a house, sometimes not.).
He worked as a rural mail carrier for awhile as he accumulated capital to start buying and reconstructing some old houses and building some new ones, which he rents to students at a local medical school.
He is now “financially independent”, and then some.
College degree “the road to financial independence”?
“It ain’t necessarily, ain’t necessarily, ain’t necessarily TRUE! ” – Sporting Life, Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin
“True!” should be “SO!”, instead.
Apologies to Gershwin’s memory and damnation to mine …
Smart kid there RD.
My advice would be live below your means (LBYM), build your own house, LBYM, drive used cars until you can easily pay cash for a new one, LBYM some more.
“Behold, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” – Grandfather
(who has never read Matthews 3:17 – Honest!)